Mid-career makeovers

Everyone needs a makeover once in a while, or at least an update.

Workers need to modernize their skills, and employers try to hire people who know the latest technology, trends and practices. Colorado’s colleges and universities are responding by adding courses and revamping their business and professional programs. They’re adding everything from certificates to doctoral programs, in an effort to meet growing demand in certain industries.

Here’s a roundup of higher education institutions around the state and their latest additions.

American Public University System

American Public University System, based in Charles Town, W.Va., consists of two online universities, American Public University and American Military University. In January, APUS launched Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in Reverse Logistics Management, the study of the reuse of products and materials. The course work covers topics such as environmental issues, cost and
benefit analysis of reverse logistics, and hazardous materials. Oliver Hedgepeth, Ph.D., program director for Reverse Logistics Management, says students include retail executives, transportation operations managers and military personnel who are involved in returning equipment from overseas.

For more information, visit www.apus.edu.

Colorado State University

Colorado State University launched an online Master of Applied Statistics (M.A.S.) through CSU OnlinePlus. Jana Anderson, statistics department coordinator, says students will likely come from backgrounds such as math teachers,
engineers, financial consultants, ecologists and public health professionals.

“Job titles we would expect students
to move into are along the lines of
analytics professional, data analyst,
operations research analyst, etc., with opportunities for employment in insurance, engineering, finance, marketing and
many other fields,” she says.

The 11-month program will start this summer with two noncredit, online math and computing skills-analysis courses prior to the start of the fall semester.

Another new program from CSU OnlinePlus is the Student Affairs in Higher Education (SAHE) master’s degree. The curriculum covers topics that administrative professionals will handle on college campuses, such as student affairs theories, cross-cultural and diversity issues, and administration functions and services.

Also new is a five-week Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) Learning System Certificate. The program, which takes place on Saturdays at CSU’s Denver Learning Center, prepares HR professionals for the Professional in Human Resources (PHR) and Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) certification exams.

For more information, visit www.online.colostate.edu.

Colorado State University-Pueblo

Colorado State University-Pueblo will launch its first doctoral degree, a Doctor of Nurse (DNP) Practice, this fall. The program will have three emphasis areas:　Adult Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, Adult Acute Care/Family Nurse Practitioner and Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. Donna Wofford, RN, Ph.D., associate dean of nursing, says the university hopes to start the program with 30 students.

“Those who enroll will be bachelor’s- or master’s-prepared registered nurses,” she says. “Teamwork is the new mantra of medicine, and nurse practitioners and physician assistants have become increasingly important care providers, particularly in rural areas and underserved populations.”

CSU-Pueblo also recently received a grant to expand its teaching program. The $1.26 million grant from the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program of the National Science Foundation is to encourage talented science, technology, engineering and mathematics majors and professionals to enter the teaching profession. CSU-Pueblo hopes to graduate 40 new teachers of secondary mathematics over the next five years with help from the grant.

For more information, visit
www.colostate-pueblo.edu.

Metropolitan State College of Denver

Metropolitan State College of Denver has three new programs.

The college received a $1 million gift to establish the One World One Water Center for Urban Water Education and Stewardship. One program in the new center is the Minor Degree in Water Education, which will begin this fall. Tom Cech, director of the OWOW Center, says students from various majors are interested in the coursework.

“We have civil engineers, political science majors who want to learn about water law, English majors who will become technical writers and write water reports, journalists, accountants who prepare spreadsheets on quantities of water instead of dollars, and geography majors who will work on maps,” he says.

Metro State’s Aviation and Aerospace Department added a Space Commercialization certificate. Students will take classes in Space Flight Operations, Aerospace Operation System Analysis and Design, Orbital Mechanics and Project Simulation, Aerodynamics and Advanced Navigation.

“Most students hope to go into any field related to aviation or aerospace-related technology and business development,” says Jeffrey Forrest, Ph.D., chair of the Aviation & Aerospace Science department. “Some students are already employees in technical firms or the military, and many are already employed in a field related to aviation science.”

Metro State also rolled out a degree in Convergence in Journalism, which focuses on writing and producing journalism across various media. Kip Wotkyns, assistant professor of journalism, says there is industry demand for writers, editors and reporters who know how to take photos for a blog entry and how to link MP3 files in an online story.

For more information, visit www.mscd.edu.

University of Colorado at Boulder

The University of Colorado at Boulder’s Continuing Education Department offers Boulder Digital Works, a 60-week graduate certificate program that is located off campus. The program, part of CU-Boulder’s Alliance for Technology, Learning and Society (ATLAS Institute), includes studios, labs and sessions covering topics such as browser-based design, animation, and how to succeed in creative industries. BDW also offers two-day Executive Workshops for advertising, marketing and other creative professionals.

CU-Boulder’s ATLAS Institute also offers the Master of Science in Information and Communication Technology for Development (MS-ICTD), for students interested in working in developing countries and impoverished regions. The coursework covers issues of access, social equity, sustainability, appropriate design and distribution. The two-year program includes a one-semester internship working in another country with a company involved in ICTD.

CU-Boulder　Continuing Education is in its second year of the　Pre-Medical Post-Baccalaureate Program. The intensive yearlong program is designed for career changers who would like to apply to medical or other health-care graduate school but did not complete the pre-med prerequisites.

For more information, visit http://bdw.colorado.edu, http://www.colorado.edu/atlas/newatlas/masters/, or http://conted.colorado.edu/postbac-premed/.

University of Colorado at
Colorado Springs

The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs expanded its Sport Management program in the College of Business. Charlene Boudreau, associate director and manager of professional programs for Business in Sport, says many students work in internships at the U.S. Olympic Committee headquarters in Colorado Springs or at one of the national governing bodies for sport. “No one else in the country has that in their backyard,” she says.

Graduates work in jobs ranging from managers of Olympic teams to working in sponsorship departments at corporations. This summer UCCS will launch a noncredit Certificate in Business Education for Sport.

Also new from UCCS is a nondegree certificate program, Leadership Development for Emerging Healthcare Leaders, to train health-care professionals who are new to supervisory roles. Venkat Reddy, dean of the College of Business, says there was a need for leadership training for middle management.

“We are not saying we will prepare you to be president,” he says. “We are taking the slant of, you are working and suddenly you become leader of your peers, so how do you tell someone who has been your colleague, ‘Go do this.’”

The five-week program graduated its first class of 12 people last December.

For more information, visit
www.uccs.edu/business.

The University of Colorado Denver

The University of Colorado Denver recently opened its new building for the business school. Sueann Ambron, dean of the business school for CU Denver, says the business school had been spread over 15 locations, and now is housed in one building in downtown Denver on Lawrence Street.

“Now we have the programs, the research, the leaders of tomorrow in a LEED Gold certified building,” she says.

Among the newest programs is the Center for Commodities, for research in agriculture, energy and minerals.　”There is a growing demand for commodities in places like China, Brazil and other countries that have a growing middle class,” Ambron says.

For more information, visit
www.ucdenver.edu/academics/colleges/
business/Pages/business-school.aspx.

University of Denver

The University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business is helping its MBA students gain international experience. The International Global Opportunities program expands the consultancy services that the school offers to businesses, says David Cox, assistant dean for the full-time MBA program.

For years, Daniels College’s MBA students have gained experience by helping local businesses with projects such as writing a business plan. The college expanded this consultancy, and some students now travel and work with companies such as Newmont Mining in Ghana and Deutsche Bank in the Philippines.

“We want students to develop critical thinking skills,” Cox says. “How do I adjust my Western business model to fit into the culture I am heading to?”

Separately, the University of Denver launched a study to determine the feasibility of a new medical school that would focus on training primary care physicians, an area projected to have a shortage as baby boomers age. The study is scheduled to be completed in June.

For more information, visit www.du.edu or www.daniels.du.edu.

Jones International University

Jones International University, an online university based in Centennial, created an MBA program with a focus on Information Security Management-Cyber Security. The program includes the regular MBA coursework plus five cyber security courses: Securing the Organization, Securing the Network, Risk Assessment and Management, Business Contingency Planning, and Penetration Testing and Ethical Hacking. Classes started in December.　

Diana Crawford, public relations manager for Jones International, says the program is for general managers who are responsible for corporate security and information risk management, as well as chief security officers, compliance specialists, and enterprise security managers. Military people are also interested.

For more information, visit www.jiu.edu.

University of Northern Colorado

The University of Northern Colorado added several degree programs.

The Bachelor of Arts in Asian Studies elevates the minor in Asian Studies or Chinese language, minors that more than 50 students currently declare. The Bachelor of Arts in Environmental and Sustainability Studies was also a minor and covers topics such as Environment, Politics and Law; Sustainable Living; and Water Resource Economics. The Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs has two emphasis areas, International Political Economy and Area Studies, and encourages students to participate in study-abroad programs and international internships.

The Master’s in Biomedical Science is a one-year intensive of science classes to help students with an undergraduate degree to prepare for human medical or veterinary doctoral programs. The Master of Arts in Higher Education and Student Affairs Leadership focuses on K-12 leadership and social justice. The Master of Arts in Sports Coaching is an online program in response to growing demand as youth sports programs continue to expand.

For more information, visit www.unco.edu.

Regis University

Regis University’s College for Professional Studies opened its Dual Language Campus last August in Thornton. Students there can earn certain Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees, including Business Administration, in bilingual (alternating weeks of Spanish and English) accelerated degree programs. Also, the College for Professional Studies will launch an MBA Project Management Specialization this fall.

Regis University’s Rueckert-Hartman College for Health Professions also has some new programs. Loretto Heights School for Nursing offers an online Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program, for nurses interested in seeking leadership roles in patient care, management of care for individuals and communities, health-care policy decision making, or senior level management within health-care organizations.

The Post-Bachelor’s Certificate in Quality and Patient Safety emphasizes quality improvement theory, the tools to measure statistical change and the leadership to implement patient safety/performance improvement initiatives.

The Certificate in Health Care Informatics is designed to help health-care professionals understand and utilize technological solutions in the workplace.　

The Master of Science in Health Informatics-Information Management is for health-care professionals looking to expand their knowledge of systems implementation, workflow design, systems planning, security management and electronic health information management.

At Regis University’s Regis College, the new Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences gives students who have Bachelor of Science degrees an intensive program to prepare them for medical school or a variety of careers in biomedical fields.　

For more information, visit http://cps.regis.edu/, http://regis.edu/rhshp.htm, or http://regis.edu/regiscollege.htm.

Adams State College

Adams State College’s Office of Extended Studies added a Small Business Management emphasis to the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree program.　Adams State, which is in Alamosa, offers the program as part of the Distance Degree program via correspondence and online delivery formats.

“This program is being offered to students with limited access to four-year programs,” says Walter Roybal, academic assistant vice president for Extended Studies. “Many adults are seeking out opportunities to finish degree programs or to retrain.　This program has provides for students who have earned previous college credit.

For more information, visit www.adams.edu/extended_studies/undergrad/.

Colorado Technical University

Colorado Technical University (CTU), launched eight degree programs in computer science, criminal justice and information technology. All are online programs.

The Doctor of Computer Science with a concentration in Information Assurance is a three-year program that focuses on security.

The Master of Science in Criminal Justice is for criminal justice professionals seeking to advance their careers in law enforcement, corrections, court systems and academia.

The Master of Science in Information Technology is available in four specializations: general, data management technology, network management and security management.

The Bachelor of Science in Information Technology is available in general specialization, which focuses on helping students design, develop and deliver IT projects, and the data management specialization, to help students learn the latest IT tools and concepts to support decision-making in accounting, marketing and operations.

For more information, visit www.coloradotech.edu.

Colorado Mesa University

Colorado Mesa University, located in Grand Junction, changed its name last August. The college, formerly known as Mesa State University, noted in a press release, “The renaming of the school more accurately reflects what the institution has become and helps those who live out of state understand where the university is located.”

CMU’s Mass Communication program was revised in 2011. The new curriculum focuses on new technologies and new media in journalism. The new Bachelor of Arts degree is called “Media Strategies and Applications.”

For more information, visit
www.coloradomesa.edu.